Capital Sounds: Musical happenings in around the Capital City
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Toolbox
Ed Dufrense - Published: December 5, 2008
Happy December, everyone! As we enter the homestretch to New Year's, there will be lots of great live music happening to provide a healthy dose of melodic holiday cheer. The month kicks off in grand fashion this weekend. Here's the scoop:
Fresh off a European tour opening for indie-darling Bon Iver, our own locally based but now internationally famous folk singer-songwriting superstar Anaïs Mitchell plays tonight at Bethany Church in Montpelier. The concert is a benefit for the Summit School of Traditional Music and Culture, which is based right here in good ol' Montpeculiar. Ms. Mitchell has been called "a songwriter of startling clarity and depth," and having had her performances bring a tear to my eye on more than one occasion, I'm inclined to agree. There will also be a silent auction at the event and entry is $15 at the door – well worth it for a worthy cause.
Around the corner at Langdon Street Café in the shadow of the Golden Dome, North Haven, Maine's The Toughcats return to the Capital City with their dynamic indie-bluegrass tunes in tow. These guys are a Café favorite, and with good reason – they deliver a wildly entertaining and dynamic live show. If you miss The Muppets (and who doesn't), they have Animal on the drums (aka Jake Greenfield) – check 'em out at 9 p.m. for donations, and you'll know what I mean. Prior to the Cats, the original honky-tonk happy hour returns at 6 p.m. when Mark LeGrand and the Lovesick Bandits begin the Friday residency for the month of December. You can also catch the band Saturday at Bethany Church – that's a venue that's busy this weekend – at 7 p.m. for a suggested donation of $5-$10.
Also Saturday, at LSC, a monthly residency begins for The Hungry Rat Revue, a collaborative effort between musicians and writers to create new performance pieces. The first Hungry Rat Revue features Montpelier writers Izabel Nielsen, Sophie Manley, Becca Starr, Zeljana Varga and others who have been collaborating with North Montpelier native and Montreal musician Eliza Moore. Each month will feature a different musical guest following the collaborative performance. Saturday's features post-punk/ambient ensemble Swedish Radar, a band which features Ms. Moore. It all kicks off at 7:30, with Swedish Radar performing at 9 p.m., for donations.
The Black Door over on Main Street in Montpelier features some great music this weekend as well. Tonight, Goddard grad John Kasiewicz, who studied under Vermont composer and Trey Anastasio mentor Ernie Stires, returns to the third floor lounge along with a local rhythm section featuring Gabe Jarrett on drums and Giovanni Rovetto on bass. Expect "soaring audio explorations" in the jazz, funk and rock veins starting at 9:30 p.m.
Saturday at The Black Door, local alt-country/rock/bluegrass outfit Erin McDermott and the Dixie Red Delights celebrate the release of their new CD "Bear Hoot" with a release party in the swanky third floor lounge. It seems the band is pulling out all the stops for this one, including some fire spinning in the back parking lot and some guest musicians, among them Patrick Ross, who absolutely astounded the crowd with his masterful fiddle playing at Langdon Street Café last Saturday. Check out one of central Vermont's hottest emerging bands starting at 9:30 – highly recommended.
Down the street at Charlie-O's World Famous Bar and Fine Dining (that is how they answer the phone, after all), Vagabond Van returns to the back of the barroom tonight with their better-than-a-bar-band brand of Americana and rock. Shrimp, Tom Bianchi and company kick it off at 10-ish.
Saturday night, alt-rock/post punk band Cherry Cassette invade our local "dive for nice people" to rock out the local faithful. And I do mean rock out – the Queen City foursome bring a heavy, aggressive rock sound and if they pull their stuff off live as well as their recordings, this should be a heckuva rock 'n' roll show. Hopefully they'll have a bunch of their MySpace friends in tow, as most of 'em appear to be sexy Suicide Girl types. Be ready to bang your head starting at 10 p.m.
For those looking for something a bit less edgy, the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra plays their holiday concert Saturday at the Barre Opera House in the Granite City. Susannah Blachly will be the guest soloist, performing four of her own compositions that were specially arranged for the VFO by John Mowad. She'll also play some special selections with George White, her bandmate in the local group Wagtail. The show starts at 7 p.m. and is priced at $15, $12 seniors and students, with folks under 17 free – all in all a great one to bring the family to.
Up Route 12 in Morrisville tonight, The Bee's Knees on Lower Main Street presents Folk by Association, a Pennsylvania-based female duo that have become regulars at The Knees. That must mean people like 'em – see for yourself starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night, folk singer-songwriter Janet Feld plays a set of socially conscious original tunes. On Sunday, Cody Michaels plays solo piano from noon to 3 p.m., followed by classic traditional tunes by David Murphy at 7:30 p.m.
As for the rest of the week, there are a couple of shows of note around the Capital City. On Wednesday at Langdon Street Café, ultra-busy local musician Jay Ekis, whose latest CD "Touched by War" also garnered positive reviews, plays a solo gig that will feature material from the new album. Americana artist Cahalen David Morrison opens the show at 8 p.m.
On Thursday, a great double bill happens at LSC when Town Wide Yard Sale, featuring Ben Roy of Dixie Red Delights fame, who happens to be one of the best young drummers in the state, bring their indie folk-meets-garage rock sound to the corner of Elm and Langdon. They'll be joined by Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Scrambler/Seequill, an indie electro-acoustic act that plays a very interesting brand of post-everything new music that should be a real treat for the ears. That one also kicks off at 8 p.m.
Finally, also next Thursday night at Charlie-O's, surprisingly. Wes Hamilton, local man about town and all around nice guy (and admittedly one of my best buds), will play a set of acoustic folk tunes, mostly covers from the Americana cannon a la Bob Dylan – he'll kick off around 9 p.m. Show up to politely applaud or at least heckle him.
Until next week, turn off the TV, turn on to VT, and go see live music!
Ed DuFresne is the talent coordinator for the Langdon Street Café and occasionally produces concerts. He lives in Montpelier with an aspiring lawyer, a budding artist, a bird named Lucy and a clutter of submitted CDs that are steadily being replaced by Web links.
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